Under-strength Munster aim to take on All Blacks again – The Irish Times

Munster v All Blacks XV, Thomond Park, Saturday, 5.30pm (on TV: streaming exclusively on Access Munster)

Accordingly, no game this week encapsulates the storied history of Munster rugby quite like the All Blacks XV, especially in a packed Thomond Park. Tickets sold out in no time last March. The capacity for this game has been increased by 26,267 with additional seating at both ends of the ground for the first time since the match against Leinster in December 2018.

Some may be under the impression that there is more to the All Blacks XV than what it says on the tin, but it also says a lot about New Zealand Rugby’s depth chart with bookmakers making the tourists 17-point favourites.

While Munster are missing five of their six Ireland internationals, Peter O’Mahony returns as spiritual leader and seemingly determined vice-captain as he seeks to prove his worth to Andy Farrell.

So it amounts to a first choice support alongside John Hodnett and double capped Gavin Coombs, who will each also feel they have something to say and the same goes for Tom Ahern.

In addition to O’Mahony and Coombs, Munster have five other starters in the starting XI, namely Mike Haley, Rory Scannell, Billy Burns, John Ryan and Stephen Archer.

That compares favorably with the five All Blacks XV players who took part in the tests, namely fullback Shaun Stevenson, center Quinn Tupea, fly-half Harry Plummer, World Cup final scrum-half Finley Christie (Blues/Tasman) and wildcat George Bauer. with scrum-half Noah Hotham and standout fullback Reuben Love on the bench

Coombs and captain Diarmuid Barron are the surviving members of the Ireland team that lost 47-19 on a sobering night at the RDS two Novembers ago. Alex Nankivell, who replaced the tourists on the night, can also provide insight into the All Blacks XV, which retained Stevenson, Love, AJ Lam and Brodie McAllister from that game.

This should be a great event and an extremely rewarding experience for some less experienced players. But injuries and an Irish call-up have left Munster short 20 players and the ripple effect means there are five academy players on the bench in addition to Shay McCarthy. With six pillars damaged, it means John Ryan (switching to free head) and his colleague, 36-year-old Stephen Archer, will have to work hard.

Of course, there was also the disruption of Graham Rowntree’s sudden departure, which left head of rugby Ian Costello with just two sessions as interim head coach to create this makeshift sideline gel.

( It’s a shame Graham Rowntree couldn’t script the dream ending at the Munster Theatre.Opens in a new window )

But this week they will be reminded of their place in Munster history. On the 46th anniversary of their famous 12-0 win over the All Blacks last Thursday, co-star Brendan Foley presented the players with their jerseys at Thomond Park to rekindle the spirit of the Tom Kiernan-coached side. But in the remaining seven meetings since 1903, there were several serious upsets: Kiernan played in both a 6-3 defeat and a 3-3 draw in 1963 and 1973. There was also that pulsating November evening in 2008 when Joe Rocococo’s late try denied Munster another famous victory.

This is the first time Munster has hosted a representative All Blacks team since beating the Māori All Blacks in 2018. They are also looking to repeat victories at Páirc Uí Chaoimh over a South African XV two Novembers ago and the Crusaders on a wet night in February 2024.

Luckily the weather forecast calls for a dry night in Limerick and, inspired by that event and the crowded, floodlit cauldron, Munster are likely to amount to more than the sum of their parts. History has taught us that they always do this.

Munster: Mike Haley: Shay McCarthy, Tom Farrell, Rory Scannell, Diarmuid Kilgallen; Billy Burns, Ethan Coughlan; John Ryan, Diarmuid Barron (captain), Stephen Archer; Finn Wycherley, Tom Ahern; Peter O’Mahony, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombs. Substitutions: Niall Scannell, Kieran Ryan, Ronan Fox, Evan O’Connell, Ruadhaan Quinn, Paddy Patterson, Tony Butler, Ben O’Connor.

XV All Blacks: Sean Stevenson (Chiefs/North Harbor); Chai Fihaki (Crusaders/Canterbury), AJ Lam (Blues/Auckland), Quinn Tupaea (Chiefs/Waikato), Kini Naholo (Hurricanes/Taranaki); Harry Plummer (Blues/Auckland), Finlay Christie* (Blues/Tasman); George Bower (Crusaders/Otago), Brodie McAllister (Crusaders/Canterbury), George Dyer (Chiefs/Waikato), Isaiah Walker-Leaver (Hurricanes/Hawke’s Bay), Fabian Holland (Highlanders/Otago), Oliver Hague (Highlanders/Otago) ), Du’Plessis Kirifi (Hurricanes/Wellington, captain), Devan Flanders (Hurricanes/Hawke’s Bay). Substitutions: Bradley Slater (Chiefs/Taranaki), Xavier Numia (Hurricanes/Wellington), Marcel Renata (Blues/Auckland), Naitoa Ah Quoi (Chiefs/Bay of Plenty), Corey Kellow (Crusaders/Canterbury), Noah Hotham (Crusaders/Tasman) , Josh Jacomb (Chiefs/Taranaki), Reuben Love (Hurricanes/Wellington).

Judge: Takehito Namekawa (Japan).

Forecast: All Blacks XV will win.